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Bought the 5687 about a week ago and so far no major issues. Does have halo and slight bowing but no big deal. It does have that "new electronics smell " to it that gets more pronounced the longer the unit stays on. Anyone else notice this smell. It doesn't quit smell like something is burning up (smoking resistor) but it is rather strong, to the point where i can smell it sitting on the couch 12 feet away. Anyone else notice thier units giving off that "electronics smell"?

I got my 5687sax at the big river for $1675 last week. Today I noticed it was offered at $1629..so I called in and got the price adjustment!

Thanks for the heads-up!!! I called big river late last night and talked to a nice man from India. He seemed very confused by my request for a price adjustment. I'm still within the 30-day window but in the end we got absolutely nothing accomplished. He transfered my query to another department and said I can expect a call-back in the next day or two. I noticed the price has already gone up by $20 this morning. I hope big river plans to honor the price shown when I called yesterday and not whatever it may currently be when they decide to call.

I still think this is an incredible set. With any luck I can get rid of the halo/prism and screen spots. Then I will be a happy camper.

Eagle arrived at 9:30 am, unboxed it, and allowed me to hook up my Xbox 360 and FiOs HD box to make sure the picture looked good (and boy does it look GOOD). The two guys from Eagle were like "This TV is amazing looking".

I've thrown a ton at it so far, HD DVDs (which, I cannot describe how awesome they looked, especially PLANET EARTH, IT BLEW ME AWAY), FiOs HD Channels looked fantastic, and playing Rock Band on my Xbox 360 on this TV was the coolest thing ever. I also played Gears of War, and Halo 3, both looked absolutely STUNNING!

I watched a lot of HD videos (trailers, game videos) from Xbox Live Marketplace and the picture this TV produces is truly jaw-dropping.

I changed the factory settings to the settings Avio had posted links to a few pages back and the picture just slaps you in the face, it's clear, bright and just all around beautiful!

I hooked up the FiOs HD Box and my Xbox 360 via HDMI cables, and have all my audio running through my Samsung 7.1 Surround Sound System. I didn't notice any sync issues, so I'm really happy about that too!

I'm so happy with this set, and thanks to everyone in this thread for all their input.
You all made me feel very confident about purchasing this TV!

I sent them an email back with the pictures attached, perhaps they didn't actually "look" at the pictures I wrote about in the few characters they give you to describe the problem.

This is the first bad experience I've had with them, I hope they correct themselves.

Update on the original, I have to wait to upload the pictures, but the screen going blind issue was related to dust settling on the DLP chip. The service tech came out, replaced the Halo ring with a black one, cleaned the DLP and all is well with the world.

Easy to do, take out the light engine, take off the shroud, two screws removes the optics, reach in with a q tip and non streaking cleaner, clean the dust off the DLP, put back together, all is well with the world again.

OK so I just got my HLT508SAX and all is working well. Doesn't seem to be any halo but how can I tell if there is any bowing? Where do I get that grid to see if there is any bowing? Now I just have to get the HD installed, that's Monday when Dish Network comes out.

Nope, call you local service rep and ask them to look up the service bulletin for Halo (I think it is called a diffuser kit) and have them come out and fix it.

Also, for folks with buzzing noise, the tech that came out said it is an easy fix, there are fans mounted on the light engine that need adjusted away from the light tube, they are too close. An easy adjustment fixes the buzzing noise.

A tech just worked on my HL-T6189S set to fix the blue halo problem, improve focus, and eliminate a loud buzzing sound. The blue halo is now fixed (the black lens ring fix as discussed was installed) and the focus is improved.

He replaced the mainboard to try and eliminate the buzz, but it did not work. The loud buzz sounds like it is coming from the LED light source. Does anyone know the magic words to tell Samsung customer support to get them to fix the buzz in the LED light source (I assume replacing it)?

Something interesting: the new mainboard has a date of 2007-09-21 with a firmware version of 1019 ("MODULE: T-LAU2AUS0-1019, DATE: 2007-09-21, MICOM: T-DLEDAUS5-3029").

easy fix. My tech said they just adjust the fans on the light engine either away from the light tube or press the fans harder against the light tube. The fans are mounted close to the tube and if it isn't tight or away from the tube, it rubs against it making the noise. He said it was a simple fix and they do it all the time. Mine didn't need it.

Help everyone! Is this picture below the infamous "halo" problem? I just noticed this today, I only seem to see it on black pictures. If this is a halo issue, how do I contact Samsung to get it fixed, and how long does it take them to fix the issue? Grr, I just got my TV less than a fortnight ago.

i just noticed the screen pattern a couple of days ago that people have been referring to as )))))((((( its on the lower sides of the set, what is causing this? Are all the screens exhibiting this and we just don't notice it?

It isn't a problem. Earlier in the thread I went through samsung, they brought out a new screen, the new screen had a flaw and the same ))))(((( efect, so I put the old screen back on.

Bottom line is this. the screen consists of 2 panels. The back panel has a fresnel pattern in it. The front screen as a vertical polarization pattern in it. When both patterns go vertical, the interfere with each other causing the effect. The only way the 07 models of this set can "not" have this issue is if the screen is seperated by a tiny bit in the area where both patters go vertical.

You cannot see it from a distance, so leave it go, fixing it may cause other problems. Not sure it can be fixed.

Nope, call you local service rep and ask them to look up the service bulletin for Halo (I think it is called a diffuser kit) and have them come out and fix it.

Also, for folks with buzzing noise, the tech that came out said it is an easy fix, there are fans mounted on the light engine that need adjusted away from the light tube, they are too close. An easy adjustment fixes the buzzing noise.

my set does that only with that image, but i dont have the normal halo i used to have even when using the torture test image...do you think it will develop into the regular halo like my previous set had (this was my replacement set manufactured Oct 31) is there any easy way i can check and see if i have the black gasket or not without opening the back of the set?

Bought the 5687 about a week ago and so far no major issues. Does have halo and slight bowing but no big deal. It does have that "new electronics smell " to it that gets more pronounced the longer the unit stays on. Anyone else notice this smell. It doesn't quit smell like something is burning up (smoking resistor) but it is rather strong, to the point where i can smell it sitting on the couch 12 feet away. Anyone else notice thier units giving off that "electronics smell"?

The electronics smell is normal when the display is brand new. It takes about 2 weeks for it to totally dissipate.

I am jealous of all the people have such great success with this TV. I am having problems after problems and the support has been less than desirable! Has anyone had problems where the remote or TV will not do the following:

1. It will not shut off... have to pull the plug
2. The remote will not work... I have tried doing the reset function. It did work when I first set up the set two days ago but soon after stopped.
3. My pic quality is poor but I am sure the is comcast and not the TV.

I am jealous of all the people have such great success with this TV. I am having problems after problems and the support has been less than desirable! Has anyone had problems where the remote or TV will not do the following:

1. It will not shut off... have to pull the plug
2. The remote will not work... I have tried doing the reset function. It did work when I first set up the set two days ago but soon after stopped.
3. My pic quality is poor but I am sure the is comcast and not the TV.

Thanks

1)Call warranty support for the display not turning off. Hitting the front power button should turn the display off immediately.

2)Bad remote, thats not a common failure? Go to a local dealer and have them verify operation of the remote. Perhaps the display not turning off and remote not working are one and same problem. Are the batteries Ok?

my set does that only with that image, but i dont have the normal halo i used to have even when using the torture test image...do you think it will develop into the regular halo like my previous set had (this was my replacement set manufactured Oct 31) is there any easy way i can check and see if i have the black gasket or not without opening the back of the set?

This is just my $0.02 based on my experience. If I didn't have the dust collecting on my DLP chip, I wouldn't have called in warranty to fix the Halo. I thought the bright spot on my screen was Halo related and just asked them to fix the halo and maybe it will fix the white spot. When he opened it up and took off the optics, it was immediately clear what was causing my white spot.

He said this is common on all dlp's, everyone on this forum will get it and and should expect it. Luckily, it is easy to fix in about 1 hour, just remove the light engine, remove the shroud, remove the optics (4 screws) and you can reach into the light tube with a qtip and some non streaking cleaning solution.

Depending on your dust situation, you might have to clean this once per year. I've had my tv for 7 months and it needed cleaned, but we have lots of pets, so that doesn't help.

The tech said that if you are smokers and the dust builds up, the smokey dust stains all plastic lenses and stuff, and cleaning makes the non stained areas clean but the stained areas stick out worse than before, so they just don't clean lenses in houses that smoke, those lenses will need to be replaced.

The guy knew what he was doing, he was in and out and got my tv back to original condition. Now I know, twice a year or so, clean the dlp chip.

Yes, Mnilan please let us know which firmware version you get and if it does work.

Well, I still haven't gotten anything from Samsung customer service - they said they were going to send me the firmware for my new Samsung BD-P1400 Blue-Ray player and for my HLT 6187s. They said it would take three days to a week...

I went to the Samsung customer service website and found the page for my DVD player and downloaded the v1.2 firmware myself, unzipped it and burned an ISO image onto a CD-R. I installed it with no problems. (NOTE: this procedure takes quite a long time).

With help and encouragement from "rashid11," I copied the file that "markm75" posted (post #5727 on THIS thread) for FW update version 1026 for the HLT xx87s displays, unzipped it and installed it in my HLT 6187s according to the instructions in the manual.

Now with the BD-P1400 set to 24 fps, I get a crystal clear picture on the HLT 6187s and the info button reveals that the image is 1920 X 1080p @ 24 fps.

So, even though downloading and installing firmware is AT YOUR OWN RISK, it worked for me. I am very pleased with the results even though Samsung customer service was only a waste of my time and a source of frustration... YMMV Good luck!

1)Call warranty support for the display not turning off. Hitting the front power button should turn the display off immediately.

2)Bad remote, thats not a common failure? Go to a local dealer and have them verify operation of the remote. Perhaps the display not turning off and remote not working are one and same problem. Are the batteries Ok?

I tried searching your posts but haven't found instructions on how to fix the underscan. I have tried the Auto adjust and the image lock. I have everything adjusted correctly on my computer too. It's very odd because when I used my old gaming machine it worked perfectly right off the bat. I used the VGA output instead of the DVI output on my Radeon 9700 that time. I'm wondering if there is something funny going on when it converts the digital DVI signal to the analog vga signal. Today i'm going to pick up a DVI to HDMI cable. I'm hoping this may solve my problem because a lot of people seem to be going this route and managed to get it working. So at least this way I can be trying the same setup as them as opposed to DVI to VGA. I'll let you guys know what happens after i try it out this evening.

So i got an DVI to HDMI converter and this is HIGHLY recommended. I think the conversion from DVI to VGA really causes some screwy things to happen. I was only utilizing like 75% of the screen at 1920x1080 rez. Straight VGA worked well on my old computer as well.

So i got an DVI to HDMI converter and this is HIGHLY recommended. I think the conversion from DVI to VGA really causes some screwy things to happen. I was only utilizing like 75% of the screen at 1920x1080 rez. Straight VGA worked well on my old computer as well.

It's not so much the 'conversion' of DVI to VGA, it's just that the VGA signal is analog, and is much more restricted by timings. A newer video card should be able to get the porper timings from the TV via the EDID information, and use that, but a lot of video cards (laptop's especially) don't like working at anything but 'standard' computer resolutions. This is where programs like PowerStrip come in, as they can force these stubborn cards to use the 'custom' resolutions. (most older cards consider 1920x1080 a custom resolution).

Just FYI, there is no real 'conversion' going on in those DVI to VGA adapters for the back of the video cards. The DVI-I connector actually has a normal VGA signal in it, the adapter you have is simply connecting the DB15 plug to those analog pins of the DVI-I.

This is just my $0.02 based on my experience. If I didn't have the dust collecting on my DLP chip, I wouldn't have called in warranty to fix the Halo. I thought the bright spot on my screen was Halo related and just asked them to fix the halo and maybe it will fix the white spot. When he opened it up and took off the optics, it was immediately clear what was causing my white spot.

He said this is common on all dlp's, everyone on this forum will get it and and should expect it. Luckily, it is easy to fix in about 1 hour, just remove the light engine, remove the shroud, remove the optics (4 screws) and you can reach into the light tube with a qtip and some non streaking cleaning solution.

Depending on your dust situation, you might have to clean this once per year. I've had my tv for 7 months and it needed cleaned, but we have lots of pets, so that doesn't help.

The tech said that if you are smokers and the dust builds up, the smokey dust stains all plastic lenses and stuff, and cleaning makes the non stained areas clean but the stained areas stick out worse than before, so they just don't clean lenses in houses that smoke, those lenses will need to be replaced.

The guy knew what he was doing, he was in and out and got my tv back to original condition. Now I know, twice a year or so, clean the dlp chip.

wow u just went on a tangent there....the color u see streaking up towards the white circle in the upper right corner of the set IS NOT due to dust on the dlp chip and for ur info the dlp chip is on the light engine with a heatsink and a fan attached to one end, think of it as a processor in a computer...i just want a simple answer if the red streaking is normal or not because i dont have the halo issue that i had from my previous set...halo is due to a reflection not dust...just to clear up ur .02 cents man

I tried searching your posts but haven't found instructions on how to fix the underscan. I have tried the Auto adjust and the image lock. I have everything adjusted correctly on my computer too. It's very odd because when I used my old gaming machine it worked perfectly right off the bat. I used the VGA output instead of the DVI output on my Radeon 9700 that time. I'm wondering if there is something funny going on when it converts the digital DVI signal to the analog vga signal. Today i'm going to pick up a DVI to HDMI cable. I'm hoping this may solve my problem because a lot of people seem to be going this route and managed to get it working. So at least this way I can be trying the same setup as them as opposed to DVI to VGA. I'll let you guys know what happens after i try it out this evening.

Read Me: By default, when you connect your PC input there will be several inches of underscan. Following these simple steps should fill the picture on your HLTxxxx from a PC input with minimal picture loss. This method has only been tested by me with VGA input, feel free to give feedback on how this works with DVI/HDMI input.

Note: This does NOT fix bowing or pincushion only over/underscan of the picture.

Do these steps in order:

1) Go to Menu > Setup > PC.
2) Highlight "Auto Adjustment" and press "Enter". This will scan your signal and set your 'Image Lock': 'Coarse' and 'Fine' adjustments automatically. To put it bluntly, it will make sure that all of your PC image is showing.
3) Press the "P-Size" button on your remote.
4) Increase the size of the image several times, attempting to get the vertical length of the display perfectly set.
5) Move the image around and left align & vertically center it.
6) Repeat 4 and 5 until you have the vertical width (top to bottom) of the screen near perfect, and the left side aligned perfectly with the chassis.
7) Go to Menu > Setup > PC again.
8) Go to Image Lock > Coarse. The Coarse setting widens the right side of the picture by 1 pixel increments. This will allow you to adjust only the horizontal length of the screen so that it's perfectly set with the chassis. Adjust the "Coarse" setting until it is satisfactory and you should be done.

Feedback, comments, and questions welcome. I did this about a month ago and I'm explaining it from memory so I hope I didn't skip anything.

Let me know if you have any questions. I wish I had the first post on this thread so I could keep it updated with relevant information like this to help people. -.- oh well...

It's not so much the 'conversion' of DVI to VGA, it's just that the VGA signal is analog, and is much more restricted by timings. A newer video card should be able to get the porper timings from the TV via the EDID information, and use that, but a lot of video cards (laptop's especially) don't like working at anything but 'standard' computer resolutions. This is where programs like PowerStrip come in, as they can force these stubborn cards to use the 'custom' resolutions. (most older cards consider 1920x1080 a custom resolution).

Just FYI, there is no real 'conversion' going on in those DVI to VGA adapters for the back of the video cards. The DVI-I connector actually has a normal VGA signal in it, the adapter you have is simply connecting the DB15 plug to those analog pins of the DVI-I.

Yep, I've used both VGA and HDMI with my computer and the picture quality, when properly set up, are damn close to identical.

Well, a service tech just came out and fixed my halo issue, and it didn't take long either. What's weird though, is that for some reason, the picture (especially SD content) looks like it has a slight grain to it, especially when there's motion. I don't know if it's just me, or is there something that he could have done that would cause that to happen?

I had to run to work after the tech was done today so tonight I'll do a bit more detective work. I have to say that I was a little bit nervous when he took apart the lens and it was sitting there on the carpet!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SheepNutz

Well, a service tech just came out and fixed my halo issue, and it didn't take long either. What's weird though, is that for some reason, the picture (especially SD content) looks like it has a slight grain to it, especially when there's motion. I don't know if it's just me, or is there something that he could have done that would cause that to happen?

does everyone get the red line angleing up from the lower center to the upper corner when using the image that has the white circle in the corner where the rest of the image is black? Just wanna know if that is normal or not...because mine does it too, my set does not exhibit the halo however...

I still have the "red line" problem that I first reported about, so it seems to be caused by something other than the lens retainer. Wopino, you're the only other person that has mentioned seeing this, so far, in this thread.

As I said before, the "red line" problem is so subtle that I doubt it will have enough effect on normal viewing to be a problem. I don't think I'm going to worry about it for now.

My tech also tried to fix the buzzing problem by replacing the sub (LED) power supply. I told him before he even changed it that it wouldn't (and didn't) fix the problem because it's the LED driver board that's buzzing so this issue is still ongoing.

For anyone interested in a possibly easier way to check for the blue halo problem, I made a new image. Before my set was fixed, I used my "dot" tests from tv_test.zip and noted all the positions that caused the halos or blobs. I then created an image that roughly encompasses those positions. At least for my set, this is the ultimate halo test pattern.

OK so I just got my HLT508SAX and all is working well. Doesn't seem to be any halo but how can I tell if there is any bowing? Where do I get that grid to see if there is any bowing? Now I just have to get the HD installed, that's Monday when Dish Network comes out.

Or for real life viewing, simply tune to channels that feature a lot of info bars across the top and bottom of the screen, such as CNBC or ESPN and see how straight they are.

I still have the "red line" problem that I first reported about, so it seems to be caused by something other than the lens retainer. Wopino, you're the only other person that has mentioned seeing this, so far, in this thread.

As I said before, the "red line" problem is so subtle that I doubt it will have enough effect on normal viewing to be a problem. I don't think I'm going to worry about it for now.

My tech also tried to fix the buzzing problem by replacing the sub (LED) power supply. I told him before he even changed it that it wouldn't (and didn't) fix the problem because it's the LED driver board that's buzzing so this issue is still ongoing.

thank you for replying, you answered my question!!! I just wanted to know if it was related to the halo reflection because my previous set had the halo when the halo test image was loaded, however, this set exhibits absolutely no halo when that image is loaded. My set was manufactured before the service bulletin went out about the black ring fix, so i was worried that my set had the old ring installed and i thought that maybe this was a different type of reflection happening from the same part that was causing the halo before....but i am pretty confident that my set came with the part installed that fixes the halo because it does not show up anymore...so thank you again for commenting on my post! I am not gonna worry about the red line as it seems like all the sets prolly do it, if it does get worse and i start seeing it during normal viewing i will be contacting my service tech again....but hey if it ain't broke don't fix it!

Well, I still haven't gotten anything from Samsung customer service - they said they were going to send me the firmware for my new Samsung BD-P1400 Blue-Ray player and for my HLT 6187s. They said it would take three days to a week...

I went to the Samsung customer service website and found the page for my DVD player and downloaded the v1.2 firmware myself, unzipped it and burned an ISO image onto a CD-R. I installed it with no problems. (NOTE: this procedure takes quite a long time).

With help and encouragement from "rashid11," I copied the file that "markm75" posted (post #5727 on THIS thread) for FW update version 1026 for the HLT xx87s displays, unzipped it and installed it in my HLT 6187s according to the instructions in the manual.

Now with the BD-P1400 set to 24 fps, I get a crystal clear picture on the HLT 6187s and the info button reveals that the image is 1920 X 1080p @ 24 fps.

So, even though downloading and installing firmware is AT YOUR OWN RISK, it worked for me. I am very pleased with the results even though Samsung customer service was only a waste of my time and a source of frustration... YMMV Good luck!

I did the same thing with a Toshiba A30 and with it also set to 1080p @24 fps, my HLT 5687s still would not display 24 fps. So the Toshiba got sent back to Amazon. The sorry thing was freezing too much with HD movies, anyway.